Local dealers of Porsche vehicles filed a compensation suit against the importer of the luxury cars for monetary losses incurred from suspended sales due to emissions test rigging, a law firm said Friday.

Forty-seven salesmen hired by Stuttgart Sports Cars Ltd (SSCL), the official importer of Porsche to South Korea, are seeking compensation worth 5 million won (US$4,465) per person, for suspended sales starting in December 2016.

This is the first legal action by local salesmen related to the fallout from emissions test rigging.

Porsche Korea had ceased sales of several models in late 2016 after their certifications were canceled for falsified documents on their emissions levels.

Porshe Korea was fined 3.6 billion won.

The diesel version of the popular Cayenne SUV was taken off the market in August last year due to the cancellation of its certification and recall in Germany.

"We have demanded 5 million won per person in compensation from Porsche Korea and SSCL," Jason Ha, the attorney from Barun Law representing the salesmen, said. "SSCL failed to take responsibility from Porsche Korea for the business losses and to make compensation payments to the car dealers for the losses." (Yonhap)